Dengue in full color
Thank you to everyone who has supported us with stats, a good word, or well wishes. Matt's fever is finished, which should mean that his platelet count will begin to rise. He just took his first actual, real stretch - hands up high - without having an IV stuck into his hand. So he looks a bit less geriatric now. He'll be doing another blood test tomorrow morning, and if his platelet count is rising, he'll be discharged. So he's almost out-of-the-woods and on the mend. (And by out-of-the-woods we mean into two to four weeks of recovery.)
In case you don't know, Dengue is a mosquito-born infectious tropical disease that causes flu-like symptoms (high fever, muscle and joint aches and headaches) and a distinct skin rash (similar to measles). In a small number of people each year (500,000 out of 50 to 100 million cases per year) the disease can develop into the dangerous Dengue Hemorrhagic Fever (DHF) - where your platelet count and blood pressure drop so low you hemorrhage blood. 250,000 people die per year from Dengue (many children and elderly). Dengue is contracted in tropical and sub-tropical regions, mostly in cities and other somewhat urban areas, even as far as the southern US. There is no vaccine and no cure. Technically speaking, Matt's platelet count has descended far enough to be considered DHF, though he's not H-ing anywhere.
Ok, science time is over. Here's a nice little view in full color.
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